rose gold eyes
by musicwithmarshmallows
Summary: In the midst of her insecurities, Blossom starts developing a crush on her substitute teacher, Brick Jojo. Her feelings are most likely requited.
1. i

**notes: wanted to try a teacher/student fic with these two. the blues are my favorite, but i wanted to write the reds instead. enjoy.**

* * *

_**rose gold eyes**_

**i.**

Blossom always felt that she was average-looking. Well, if she was honest, she felt like she was way below average.

And she knew she was average to her peers, as she never got a second glance whenever she entered the room. Sometimes not even a glance at all. But she was okay with that. She didn't like a lot of attention on her anyway, and she didn't blame them. She wouldn't cast a single glance at herself either if she was from the outside looking in.

From her long, matted hair to her twenty-four centimetered feet, to Blossom, she was hideous.

To Blossom, she would always be hideous. And she was slowly starting to be okay with that, too. Accepting it like she was in last place in a race, knowing no matter how hard she pushed or how much air she gasped, she'd never make it up front to win the gold.

She stared at her reflection in one of the mirrors in the girls' locker room. It had a crack in the middle of the glass, almost splitting Blossom's face in two. She stared at her reflection behind black, thick-rimmed glasses that took up half of her face, lips set in a frown. She noticed the usual bags under her eyes were now darker from staying up way past her bedtime reading a forty-chaptered book she had already read at least seven times. She mentally slapped herself when her clock read 12:09 AM by the time she finished it.

Blossom frowned deeply at the dark bags reminding her even more of how unsightly she looked.

"Oof!" she squeaked, startled as something pushed her in the back, jerking her forward. She gripped the sink in reflex before quickly snapping her eyes up at the mirror to see who had pushed her. She glared at the taunting smirk on the girl's face.

"Staring at yourself like a weirdo won't make your ugliness go away," Princess Morbucks chided, hand placed on her cocked hip, looking annoyingly smug.

_I'm aware of that_, Blossom thought to herself, but opened her mouth with a comeback ready on her tongue.

"Fuck off, Princess!" someone barked beside her, taking Blossom's words right out of her mouth (well, excluding the F word).

Blossom turned to see her sister, Buttercup, with her arms folded across her chest, glowering at the rich girl.

Princess narrowed her honey brown eyes at Buttercup, curling her lips up in a scowl with a locked jaw. She looked like wanted to respond at first, then a slick smirk formed upon her lips once again as she turned and walked passed the two all snooty-like, confidence swayed not one bit.

"'S not my fault your sister's a weirdo," she said over her shoulder, twirling a thick lock of orange hair around her finger. Snickers could be heard from the changing area from Princess' friends.

"The hell d'you just say?!" Buttercup was about to get ready to pounce like a ferocious lion but was stopped by her eldest sister's hands grasping her arm. "Hey, what gives?!"

"No, Buttercup," said Blossom sternly. "It's not worth getting another detention over."

"Who cares!" Buttercup shouted, throwing her hands in the air. "She's calling my sister a weirdo." She rolled the sleeve of her hoodie up. "That bitch needs to be taught a lesson—"

"I said _no_, Buttercup," Blossom's tone was laced with venom, making Buttercup stop in her tracks. Blossom's expression was demanding as she glared at her. The green-eyed girl knew not to go against her sister's wishes when she used that tone and gave her that look, as it held a firm finality.

Buttercup huffed. "Fine." She refolded her arms across her chest with an indignant pout.

Blossom smiled softly, relief washing over her. "Thank you," she replied graciously.

Buttercup looked at her sister and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said before giving Blossom a soft, yet sincere look. "You know you're not a weirdo, right? Don't let Princess' words get to you, okay?"

_But I _am_ a weirdo._

Buttercup's eyes hardened. "And you're _not_ ugly. You got that, Pinky?"

A deep, dreadful feeling wrenched in Blossom's gut at her sister's words. She glanced over at Princess arrogantly flipping her hair over her shoulders and talking to her group of friends with so much confidence, practically owning the room. Princess' hair was the same color as hers, yet was perfectly curly and had much more volume than hers would ever have. Her skin was flawless and perfectly tan. Even the freckles on her cheeks suited her.

Blossom shifted her eyes to the cracked mirror.

"_Staring at yourself like a weirdo won't make your ugliness go away."_

Blossom had already accepted that she was hideous.

"_And you're _not_ ugly. You got that, Pinky?"_

She gave Buttercup a small smile, knowing she was being dishonest with her reply.

"…Okay."

* * *

Blossom had no brilliance when it came to looks. She knew that very well. But her brilliance shined through when it came to her intellect.

She was the top student in her class, getting perfect scores on every assignment, test and project without fail. Blossom never received a single score below an A on her report cards and also withholding perfect attendance.

Throughout kindergarten all the way to tenth grade, she was always humbly praised by her teachers of her intelligence, and she would shyly accept it, though never brag about it amongst her peers. Her classmates never seemed to mind that she was the top student actually. They never seemed to care either, and Blossom was okay with that. She liked being below the radar when it came to attention.

And even now as a Junior, she still remained being the top honor student of her class.

Honestly, Blossom felt neutral about the entitlement. She, along with her sisters and father, was proud of her progress and hard work, but she also felt like she didn't deserve it. She pictured honor students to be kempt, unblemished, great sovereigns to their class.

And with her abnormal colored irises, tall, lanky body, and socially-awkwardness, she was anything but those things.

"Gosh, I wish I was smart like you, Blossom," Bubbles commented with a cute pout. She closed her book with her algebra homework and idly stuffed it in her teddy bear patterned backpack. "I would've never figured this out if it weren't for you."

Bubbles was standing by her locker when she spotted her sister walking to her and happily called her over to help her with algebra homework real quick. After blushing bashfully at her name being called in the middle of the hallway, Blossom obliged and briefly explained and demonstrated how to solve polynomial equations.

"You're smart, too, Bubbles," Blossom encouraged kindly, hugging her English books to her thighs.

Bubbles gasped cheerily. "Really? Thanks, Blossom!" She couldn't help but add brightly, "But not as smart as you, though!"

"O-oh! Uh…" Blossom rubbed her thumb on the spine of her books sheepishly. "Th-thank you."

Bubbles smiled joyfully.

Robin, who was Bubbles' friend and was taking notes from Blossom's polynomial explanation as well, giggled at Blossom's reaction. "You don't have to be so modest," she assured. "If I even had half of your smarts, I'd brag about it until the cows come home. Nobody wouldn't be able to faze me."

Bubbles giggled, blonde pigtails bouncing as she did. "But Blossom isn't _you_, though. She's Blossom!"

Robin shrugged with a smile. "Fair enough." Not knowing what else to do since her task was done, Blossom politely excused herself to head to class. "Wait, you're heading to English, right?" asked Robin with raised eyebrows.

"Um…yes," Blossom replied with a nod.

Robin kissed her teeth and folded her arms at the reply. "Lucky."

"But I thought you already had English today," Bubbles acknowledged, confusion etching her features. Blossom was just as confused.

"Yeah, and I wish I had it again," Robin stated with a small smirk, a dreamy glint in her periwinkle blue eyes that Blossom thought was weird.

"Wait, why do—" Bubbles started before realization popped in her mind like a light bulb. "_Ohhh_…"

Ohhh?

"O-oh what?" Blossom sputtered, curiosity secretly and completely peeked. "W-w-what—"

"But he's not even that cute," said Bubbles, scratching her cheek before tapping it. "Well, actually he is, but not really my type of cute." Bubbles then gasped as if she just revealed a huge secret, quickly backtracking. "Wait, why am I saying that?! Gah! No, bad Bubbles. Bad, bad, _bad_!"

Robin burst out laughing at her friend pulling at her pigtails whilst chastising herself. "You're a riot, Bubbles!"

And Blossom was still lost.

"Hold on, what's—"

"Oh my gosh, Blossom, I nearly forgot you were still here! Hurry!" Bubbles motioned her hands in the direction of her English class, light blue eyes big with motivating urgency. "I don't want you to be late for class and mess up your perfect attendance record because of me," she insisted with an apologetic expression.

Blossom blinked three times before briskly nodding in agreement. "O-oh, right! See you guys later!"

Without wasting anymore time, Blossom practically scurried through the now emptying hallway to her last period of the day, unkempt lengthy ponytail whisking behind her movements. She clinched her books to stomach, speed-walking as fast as she could. She then cut a corner, made her way down the small hallway until she got to the end of it, went to Room 211, turned the knob, nearly flying the door open before quickly closing it behind her and—

_Riiiiing!_

Blossom's racing heart decelerated in relief. Her fingers still grasped the knob as her body faced the door.

_Sigh, I made it just in time__…_

"So glad you could finally join us."

The sarcastic statement completely caught Blossom off guard, nearly making her jump out of her loafers. She expected to hear Mr. Hendrix's benevolent greeting, but was instead greeted by a totally different voice. A _completely_ different voice.

When she finally and cautiously turned around, she was met with a completely different teacher standing in the front of the classroom.

Blossom had seen Mr. Jojo before. Well, only a brief glimpse of him through hallway passings. He substituted various subjects in her grade level quite often since it was nearing winter and teachers were assuredly getting sick. She noted that Mr. Hendrix, her jolly English teacher, was catching the worst of it, constantly coughing and hacking throughout giving a lecture of _The Fall of the House of Usher_ and looking even drowsier as weeks gone by.

She'd often hear her classmates describe Mr. Jojo as "a pain in the ass" because of his strict nature, though she didn't know to coincide with that statement, considering she never attended a class he'd substituted since he only taught morning classes that weren't in her schedule.

This was quite a surprise that he was teaching an afternoon class. What was even _more_ surprising of all was the English teacher that was in his fifties was now replaced by someone that was clearly in his twenties.

This transition steered Blossom _way_ off track. Way, _way_ off track.

His crimson eyes seeped through her like hot coals, yet were cold and sinister, impaling right through her feeble heart. They might have succeeded as she felt her heart stop beating. Blood red was locked on bespectacled eyes, and Blossom couldn't seem to turn away. Corral red flooded her face.

A peculiar glint flashed within Mr. Jojo's eyes for a split second, gaze softening for a split second.

"Take your seat," he instructed with a tinge of impatience.

A mute squeak escaped Blossom's dry lips. She was immediately set back into reality. She was in school. She was in English class.

Before her legs could give out on her from how flustered she was, without hesitation, Blossom wordlessly did what she was told. She heard someone give a catty laugh as she sat in her seat located in the top left of the classroom. Blossom stared at her desk, even more embarrassed. She knew exactly who it came from.

She almost forgot she shared her next and final class of the day with Princess as well.

"Immaturity won't be tolerated in this class," Mr. Jojo scolded, tone even colder than before. It unexpectedly sent warm chills down Blossom's spine, causing her blush to spread down her neck.

The curly-haired popular girl bit the inside of her jaw and glared at the teacher, tapping her manicured nails on her desk. She didn't put up a fight.

Mr. Jojo glared right back at her before casting his glare to the entire class. "As some of you may or may not know, Mr. Hendrix is very sick and now currently being hospitalized," he informed with his arms across his chest. Some students reacted to this news, even Blossom.

_Hospitalized?_

Even though Mr. Hendrix was old, he was kind and sturdier than most seniors, and he was quite liked by her peers. She was quite shocked that he got this sick.

A student, Whitney, raised her hand up earnestly. "Is he going to be alright?"

Blossom finally looked up from her desk to witness Mr. Jojo's answer. His folded arms bulged beneath the white sleeves of his dress shirt, giving off that they were toned and strong like the rest of his upper body, Blossom noticed shyly. His lips were set in a frown as his sharp gaze bored into the class.

Those piercing red eyes were stunning.

"I have no information about his current state," explained Mr. Jojo, snapping Blossom out of her little daze. "I was only informed that he will be absent for a while, and unfortunately the staff and I don't know when he will be back." He turned around to grab a stack of packets that were placed on the teacher's wooden desk. "But until then," he said, tapping the packets on the desk to align them perfectly. He faced forward. "I will be your new English teacher."

Some students were indifferent at this news.

Others groaned in mild agony.

Blossom's heart soared within her chest.

She mentally bonked herself on the head.

"And since I will be your new English teacher," Mr. Jojo continued, completely unfazed. "We will be going over the different forms of stanzas in poetry, which I think are fairly easy, but from my understanding, most of you seem to lack sustainable scores on."

Blossom watched his movements carefully as he started from the right of the classroom to hand out the small packets. She slid her glasses back up her nose. The teacher walked and carried himself with such brutal self-assurance, strides defiant, eyes and voice hard as steel.

"If you got away with slacking and sleeping your way through Mr. Hendrix's teachings, you're sadly mistaken if you think you can run that by me."

Blossom felt her heart betraying her yet again, soaring higher and higher within her chest. She couldn't help but be instantly drawn to the confidence, solemnly knowing she would never obtain such a thing.

Her heart began to sink.

She stubbornly had to shift her attention away before she looked on too long, staring at her English books on her desk instead. _English III, Grade 11_ it read. Students groaned and whined amongst themselves behind her. She could see her reflection in the shiny cover of her book, face in obscure shapes from the bumps and crevices of the letters engraved.

She really couldn't tell if this reflection was worse or not.

Her reflection was then replaced by a large, calloused hand along with a packet of stanzas. Blossom's blinked up in surprise with a tiny gasp, a whiff of pleasant cologne invading her nose. Her eyes reluctantly followed up the arm the hand belonged to and was met with Mr. Jojo's crimson gaze yet again.

But this time he was _right beside her_.

He stood there, hovering the packet in front of Blossom for her to take, oddly patient as she just stared up at him dumbly. His cold eyes never left hers as wordless seconds rolled by.

Blossom could feel her cheeks boiling behind her big glasses.

She shakily grabbed the packet with a sweaty palm, making sure her and Mr. Jojo's hands didn't touch. She sheepishly averted her eyes from him for the second time today.

"Th-thank you," she spoke meekly when she found her voice, surprised that she even said anything at all.

When he didn't instantly reply back and walk away, Blossom quickly glanced up at him through her eyelashes, only to see that peculiar glint dance in his red eyes once more. She could've sworn she saw his lips quirk up in a faint smirk before he simply walked away without so much of a glance her way.

He set the extra packets that were left in a random drawer, slamming it shut and moved to the front of the class to begin his lecture, leaning on Mr. Hendrix's desk.

Blossom gawked at the man as he discussed the packet, utterly dumbfounded. Utterly astounded.

Eventually, she exhaled a long breath she'd been holding, letting her head fall forward onto her books and packet. She felt slightly feverish from blushing so much. She honestly thought she would faint; but the coolness of her books seemed to cool her face down. Her embarrassment was slowly dying down. Her eyelids lowered at the soothing feeling.

"I thought I made it very clear that there will be no sleeping away in this class."

Blossom jolted straight up in her chair like a startled cat, glasses nearly flying off, eyes blown wide.

Mr. Jojo was glaring straight at her, a deep frown placed upon his lips.

She could feel all eyes burning at the back of her skull now. She didn't like this. Her heart sped up rapidly with apprehension.

Blossom swallowed. "I'm sorry," she apologized without fumbling.

_Just stay calm_.

"First, you're nearly late for class, and now you're napping in the middle of my lecture. Do I have a little rebel on my hands?" He gradually began to smirk threateningly as he spoke. That made something flutter within Blossom's stomach.

"N-no, sir, I wasn't falling asleep, I-I'm sorry!" she sputtered in her defense, blush blotching her cheeks.

"Hmm," he rumbled with slightly hooded eyes, his smirk remaining. "…I'll forgive you for now." He turned his attention towards the class with a serious expression. "But if I see another person snoozing, you'll sorely regret it."

The whole class sat up straighter.

Blossom visibly relaxed, still blushing.

"_I'll forgive you for now."_

Her heart skipped.

Without any further interruptions, Mr. Jojo resumed his lecture, which lasted around twenty minutes, and Blossom listened attentively. She had to admit, she was impressed with the way he explained things. Despite his unrelenting nature, the way he taught was very easygoing, yet calculated, and kept your interest throughout as he wrote each kind of stanza on the board.

"Any questions?" asked Mr. Jojo once he was finished.

No hands were raised, which was rare.

The ruby-eyed man glanced at the clock before noting that class was going to end in a minute or so. "Alright, I want you to complete the questions for the first two quatrains that are in this packet as homework. And yes, they are due tomorrow."

Grumbles scattered whilst Blossom was pleased. There were ten questions for each quatrain, and both seemed pretty easy to her as she briefly looked them over. She could finish them within at least ten minutes.

The bell eventually rang and everyone made a beeline for the door, leaving a bewildered Blossom behind. _Wow__…_ Blossom blinked twice. _That was fast_.

She hastily rubbed at the bags under her eyes with the back of her hands, standing up to silently put her English books and packet in her bookbag. Blossom then bristled, realizing that it was just her and the substitute in the room.

Slowly, she craned her neck towards Mr. Jojo, who was now checking something on his portable laptop at his desk with a bored expression.

And for some strange reason, all Blossom could do was stare on, pondering if Mr. Jojo was real or not. With eyes like that, he _had_ to be unreal, right?

"Can I help you with something?"

The sound of his voice abruptly jostled her out of her thoughts. Blossom froze up. He was now looking at her, patient, line of sight fixated on nothing but her in the room. He didn't dare look away and neither did she as what seemed like a long silence transpired.

Blossom felt imprisoned, felt stuck to the floor beneath her.

After a few more seconds, all she could manage to get out was a tiny, barely audible, "Um…"

Another beat of silence.

The man's bored expression gradually turned playful, almost amused as his lips curved into a smirk. He slightly tilted forward on his elbow, hand propping his chin.

"You know, just staring at me won't help me understand what you want," Mr. Jojo spoke, smirk turning up even more. His deep voice sent heat down Blossom's spine like slow tar. "You have to use your words."

Blossom fish mouthed before blubbering unintelligently, "I, I w-want…"

_To run run run from this embarrassment_.

She gripped the strap of her bookbag. Her face was on fire at this point. "I-I just w-wanted to tell you that I apologize for making it seem like I wasn't listening to your lecture," she found herself saying on a whim. Most of it was true.

Mr. Jojo hummed a short chuckle. "And I forgive you. But do be sure not to slack off in this class."

Blossom nodded frantically before bowing her head. Her lips wobbled. "Y-yes, sir!"

"And be sure to arrive to class on time. No running in a second before the bell."

"Yes, sir."

Blossom could hear the pleased smirk in his voice, a low simmer edging under her skin.

"Good girl."

* * *

**reviews are very much appreciated. if this sucks already, i'll take it down.**

**thank you for reading.**


	2. ii

**notes: wasn't expecting some people to actually like this story so far. thank y'all for the reviews. my bad for the long update.**

* * *

_**rose gold eyes**_

**ii.**

Blossom felt weird. Really, really weird.

Her mind kept lulling in and out of daydreams. The events that occurred at the end of the today at school replayed over and over again, fogging up her head like a hazy smoke cloud flurrying in the air.

A faint blush tinted her cheeks as she recalled it all, gazing out the window in the back seat of Bubbles' friend's car. Trees and buildings whizzing by were completely altered into nothing but alluring eyes belonging to her new English teacher, Mr. Jojo.

Butterflies jittered within her stomach.

This was strange.

Very, very strange.

"_Good girl."_

Right after he'd said that, Blossom nearly deceased. She had stuttered out a polite, yet skittish departure in jumbled mess of words with a final bow just before scurrying out of the classroom on wobbly legs, never looking back, not wanting to endure any further humiliation.

Her sisters and Robin had questioned Blossom what took her so long, not commenting on how red her face was. Blossom suspected they must've thought it was from the running.

Oh, were they so very wrong.

"I-I had dropped my books and papers on my way and they scattered everywhere," she had told them.

She felt so terrible for lying, and even more terrible at how easily they believed her lie.

But Blossom weirdly didn't want them to know Mr. Jojo was what held her up.

_Why don't I want them to know?_

A finger poked at her shoulder. "Blossom?"

"Huh?!" The bespectacled girl jumped. Her voice came out louder than it should have out of nervousness, causing the other girls to pause.

Bubbles then giggled beside her, all adorable and high-pitched. "Why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?"

Blossom blushed. "I-I-I'm not jumpy, I'm fi—"

"Did Princess say something again?" Buttercup questioned in a heap, fully whipping around in the passenger seat, anger already alighting her green eyes.

"No!" yelped Blossom, waving her hands to pacify her sister's worries. She gave a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, really. Even if Princess were to say something again, I would have ignored it anyway. Or, at least try to ignore it," she added as an afterthought.

Buttercup narrowed her eyes at the eldest sister and kissed her teeth, then turned back around, propping her feet back up on the dashboard. "You're too nice sometimes, Red," remarked the raven-haired girl, arms pillowing her head as she lounged back in her seat.

"Why'd you call her 'Red' just now?" Robin asked in a distracted huff of a laugh.

"Yeah, you usually call Blossom 'Pinky' or 'Leader Girl'," pointed out Bubbles.

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "'Cuz she's a redhead, _duh_."

Robin muttered offhandedly that Blossom's hair looked more orange to her.

Bubbles blinked, tilting her head as she pondered for a second. "I think 'Pinky' is better, though…"

"Well, maybe I like to spice things up!"

Robin took a quick glance at the rearview mirror, idly stopping her car at a red light. "Speaking of red," a huge delighted smirk took over her face. "Our new English teacher is pretty hot, huh?"

Blossom's eyes nearly flew out of their sockets.

Bubbles' jaw automatically dropped, gasping incredulously as if her best friend just cursed in front of a small child. "Robin!"

Robin continued to smirk. "What? You said he was cute, too."

Pink colored Bubbles' cheeks for a split second. "Well, _yeah_," she admitted with a slow shrug of her shoulders. "But he's not _my_ type of cute," she reiterated, blue eyes filled with pure innocence. "And you're not supposed to think of your teacher that way."

Robin didn't seem swayed.

Blossom was frozen in place, staring straight ahead.

Tension was building inside of her as if she'd done something wrong, as if she committed a heinous crime. She quickly tried to recall in her now disarrayed brain. _Did_ she do something wrong?

The light turned green.

"That guy's a total asshole," Buttercup stated bluntly after grunting distastefully. She bobbed her leg. "It's like he's constantly got a stick up his ass." Buttercup then scowled at Robin, curling her lip upward. "And Bubbles is right. Stop fantasizing about a guy that's twice your age, you weirdo," she chastised, though no real bite was present in her voice.

For some odd reason, a reason Blossom couldn't fathom at that moment, it felt like something struck right through her heart.

_Weirdo__._

To Blossom's utter surprise, Robin only gave a hearty laugh in return. "He's at least in his early twenties, BC."

"Doesn't matter. 'S still weird."

Bubbles nodded her head in agreement.

Robin licked her lips, still smiling mirthfully. "Well, guess I'll be a weirdo then."

* * *

The light from the lamp on her nightstand illuminated her bedroom dimly. Blossom was laid in the middle of her bed on her stomach, tapping her chin with the end of her pencil as she read over the last couple of questions on her History homework (which wasn't due until the end of the week, but she liked completing her schoolwork early).

She whispered the answers to herself as she wrote them out onto the paper. Her bangs that were somewhat wet from her shower flopped in her eyes a little whilst she worked. It had taken Blossom another five minutes or so to write the last couple of sentences on the final discussion question before she rolled over onto her back with a sigh. Her body nearly took up her entire twin-sized bed from how tall she was.

The time read 8:57 PM when Blossom checked her cellphone. She randomly began scrolling through the apps, which she hardly any. Only the internet, a few that were a necessity to the device, her messages, contacts, and a couple of puzzle games she'd installed.

She tapped Contacts. Bubbles, Buttercup, Pokey Oaks High School, Robin, The Professor—those were the only names she had.

Robin's name was added after Bubbles befriended her and introduced her to both Blossom and Buttercup one day after school in the beginning of the year. Buttercup was always skeptical when meeting new people, but Robin and her hit it off pretty well, as they came to find that they had a similar sense of humor and taste in music. Blossom thought the brunette would deem her nervous babbles and awkwardness as weird, but to her surprise, Robin never once teased her at all, even willingly adding her name and number into Blossom's contacts.

"Don't be shy to text me anytime, okay?" Blossom remembered Robin saying with an easy smile.

Blossom presumed Robin was just being nice to her to make a good impression in front of Bubbles. However, as she studied her overtime, Robin genuinely didn't seem like a judgmental person, so Blossom accepted her friendship without questioning it too much. Robin rarely messaged her, and when she did, it was mostly her asking for help on homework, which Blossom didn't mind and was happy to help.

One would say that Blossom only having five contacts (three of them being her close family members) in her phone was pretty lame, but she was content with not having that many. She didn't have any friends besides Robin, so it would make sense that her contacts were minimalistic.

"Yeah, it makes sense that a hideous freak like you doesn't have friends," Blossom could hear a mocking voice belonging to Princess in the back of her mind.

Water pricked at her eyes. Her throat tightened before swallowing. She shut her eyes and breathed, slow and steady, pressing her phone to her chest.

_I refuse to cry._

"BLOSSOM!"

"AH!"

A huge force—Blossom's history book—was slammed onto Blossom's thighs, springing her upper body forward in a clap of pain. Her vision went blurry.

A gasp escaped the person who caused it. "Oops…sorry…" They sat down on the bed where the book once was, explaining innocently and simply, "It was in the way."

"Bubbles!" Blossom bleated, sitting up, voice slightly raised from the shock. "You can't just barge into my room like that, scaring me."

Bubbles apologized a few more times with big regretting eyes, and Blossom knew she'd already forgiven her puppy dog of a sister.

"It's okay, it's okay," Blossom assured as she found herself starting to smile softly.

Bubbles made a noise of joy in response, then shoved a piece of paper right in front of her eldest sister's face. Blossom visibly jumped at the sudden action.

"Looklooklook!" exclaimed the blonde excitedly, practically bouncing. "Thanks to your help, I got an _A_!"

Blossom beamed at the news. "Wow, that's great, Bubbles," she congratulated as she briefly scanned over the worksheet that was Bubbles' polynomial homework.

The bright smile taking over Bubbles' face grew even brighter somehow. "Thank you!" she gushed, lowering the paper down. "I was gonna show you after school, but then I completely forgot, and now I remembered. Thank you so much again for helping me!"

Blossom couldn't help but continue to smile, as a lot of people found themselves doing when it comes to Bubbles. Her cute nature accommodated with her bubbly personality was infectious, radiant. In her own way, Bubbles was brilliant.

"You're welcome," Blossom replied.

Bubbles' smile gradually turned fond as she stared at her sister, a thoughtful gleam in her blue eyes. "You know what, Blossom? You should smile more at school," she commented sweetly. Her face held nothing but honesty and kindness.

Blossom's jaw went slightly slack as her expression gradually turned into a look of utter surprise from her younger sister's words.

_H__…__huh?_

Before Bubbles said her farewell and goodnight, she plucked Blossom's glasses that flew off to the floor. "It's a good thing they're hidden behind these. I'm a little jealous," she teased lightheartedly with a cute little smile. "Could make any guy fall head over heels for those eyes."

* * *

**Buttercup [12:35 PM]: U can sit w us at lunch u know**

Blossom had seen her sister texted her as she made her way into the library with her sack lunch. She didn't like having her cellphone out during school, as it was against school rules, but the middle-aged librarian, Ms. Catherine, was lenient on letting students be on their phones _only_ during lunch, especially to "well-mannered kids like you," the librarian once told her. Blossom thought it was a little wrong for Ms. Catherine to allow students such freedom, yet befitting because the librarian was a very kind woman. Many students didn't go to the library to eat lunch anyway, and Blossom knew she would never ever cause a disturbance in the quiet sanctuary filled with dozens of books.

The metal doors clicked behind her once Blossom stepped in, glasses slipping down her nose as she hastily replied back to Buttercup.

**Blossom [12:36 PM]: I know, but I like having lunch in the library. It's quieter.**

"Hello, Blossom," she heard Ms. Catherine greet pleasantly.

The corners of Blossom's lips turned up at the welcoming voice, an equally pleasant and polite greeting ready on her tongue, until she finally fully looked up.

She was rendered still.

Standing by the librarian's desk, carrying stacks of literary books in their hands, was the man that had strangely been floating around in her mind all of yesterday's afternoon.

Mr. Jojo stared back at her, expression bored but eyes enlivened and so deeply red. A peculiar glint was present in them.

Blossom's heart soared. Her cheeks warmed up.

_Oh no no no no._

Trying to quickly recover herself and look casual, she trailed her eyes to the smiling librarian, proceeding to greet and mirror the woman's welcoming tone, "Hello, Ms. Catherine."

"Having a good day today?" asked Ms. Catherine, still smiling warmly as if Blossom wasn't standing there having a panic attack.

She felt herself begin to sweat.

_Calm down_, she thought to herself fretfully. _Just focus on Ms. Catherine. Focus on Ms. Catherine._

"U-uh-huh!" Blossom squeaked, slipping her phone back into her bookbag, clutching the closing of her sack lunch tightly in her hands. She kept her wide eyes straightaway at the librarian and _nothing else_.

"Well, that's good, sweetie. There isn't anyone in the back by the fiction section, so you're more than welcome to have your lunch over there," stated Ms. Catherine kindly.

Blossom nodded appreciatively in response. _Yes! I want to escape this, please!_ "Thank you—"

"You're not gonna scold her for having her phone out at school?" abruptly asked the substitute English teacher, his voice raking chills down Blossom's body and stopping her in her tracks.

Betraying herself, she finally glanced at the man, who was glaring down at Ms. Catherine, awaiting the woman's answer. His lips were set in a regular frown. His visible forearms strained as he carried the heavy books like they weighed nothing. That made her cheeks warm up even more.

Ms. Catherine continued to smile up at the strict teacher. "Oh, I let the students go on their phones only during this time." She cupped her hand to her mouth. "Don't tell anyone," she whispered before chuckling a little. "And besides, I trust Miss Utonium. She's a good student."

Mr. Jojo didn't seem to let up then, only slowly trailing his red eyes to Blossom, who stood there desperately wanting to eat her lunch in peace.

"Yeah," the man finally said after a few seconds. He smirked, eyes glinted. "She is a good girl."

Ms. Catherine nodded in agreement, completely and utterly clueless.

And that was when Blossom eventually sped-walked away, an embarrassed blush spreading like flames up her face and down her neck.

Why did this have to happen to her? Why did he have to say that in front of another adult? Why did he have to say that at all? Why was she getting so worked up over it?

_Good girl. Good girl. Good girl._

With a blush-blotched face and stuttering heart, Blossom sat down at a small table by the fiction section and carefully took out her bottled water and lunch from the brown paper bag. She took leisurely breaths through her nose as she sank her teeth down, biting into her ham and cheese sandwich.

So many thoughts were swarming through her head, but she was relieved to finally take a breather from all of…that. Impulsively buckling up her knees with sandwich-filled cheeks, Blossom heard a vibration coming from her bookbag. Her cellphone was the culprit. She swallowed with some water before fishing the device out of her bag.

**Buttercup [12:42 PM]: Bubbles won't quit whining about needing help w memerising this stupid physics vocab -_-"**

Despite still being flustered from recent events, this had a smile tugging at Blossom's lips. She could imagine Buttercup blowing a fuse at Bubbles' jutted lip and incessant, yet amusing wailing whilst Robin laughed at the hilarity of it all. If Blossom was there, she would've muffled her own giggles and tried calming down her short-tempered sister.

**Blossom [12:42 PM]: *Memorizing, and tell her that I'll make flashcards for her.**

**Buttercup [12:43 PM]: U better. I'm 2 seconds away from smacking her upside the head w a spork**

A spittled giggle couldn't help but escape from behind her palm.

**Blossom [12:43 PM]: Now now, Buttercup, calm down please****…**

**Buttercup [12:44 PM]: :P**

She shook her head with a smile at her sister's response.

_Clump_

Blossom's amused expression dropped into one of innocent confusion at the nearby sound.

"May I sit here?"

Warmth instantly spread across her face.

When she hesitantly glanced up at the person who owned the smooth voice, ruby red eyes were boring right into hers. He had set down a blue English book on the table in front of a chair that was angled towards Blossom. His expression was neutral, yet his eyes showed a different emotion that Blossom couldn't quite pinpoint.

It left her at a loss of words and a jumbled up mind.

"H…huh?" Blossom found herself breathing out in her bashful state, lips parted, heart soaring.

The corner of his mouth gradually tugged into a smirk as he slightly tipped his head to the side, regarding the bespectacled girl coolly. "May I sit here with you, Miss Utonium?"

A shiver ran up Blossom's spine at the way his voice sounded when saying her last name. She quickly turned her head away, putting her hands in her lap. She was already painfully awkward enough, so maybe if she didn't answer the substitute teacher, then he'd go away.

But the soft scraping of a chair moving against the carpet and the man taking a seat beside her completely dismissed that solution.

"Wait!" Her voice came out as a squeak as she looked at him sheepishly. She only kept his gaze for a mere second, fish mouthing before turning her head away again. "I d-didn't s-say yes…" she mumbled breathily.

"But you didn't say no either," Mr. Jojo countered easily in a lowered voice. More shivers transcended up her spine. Blossom could practically hear and the smirk and playful teasing in his voice as he said, "What? A teacher can't have lunch with their student?"

Blossom sat up straight and stared straight ahead, absentmindedly licking her dry lips. "Th-they can, I suppose," she answered. She bravely shifted her gaze fully to the man, mentally hoping that she wouldn't fumble. "B-but shouldn't you have had lunch in the staff room?"

Mr. Jojo tapped his forefinger on the cover of the book. His smirk was still prevalent as his eyes glinted. "Nah. I'm good right here."

Blossom had to gulp down her elevating heart before speaking. "D-do y-you sit and converse with any other student l-like this?"

"Nope." He rested the side of his face in his palm, gazing at her with half-lidded eyes. "Just you."

_Just you._

_Just me._

Blossom knew there was honesty behind those words.

_But why__…_

"Why…" she trailed off. She shook her head faintly, utterly perplexed, like she was trying to solve an unfathomable algebraic equation. "…Why are you so intrigued with me?"

Mr. Jojo's smirk turned into his usual frown as he pondered over her question for a moment. He had looked off to the side before easily meeting her gaze again with a response. "I dunno. You seem…different. I've heard a lot of praises about you from other teachers actually, how you have excellent test scores, how smart you are, how much of a _good student_ you are." His smirk returned at Blossom's blush. "Now I've finally got to meet this Blossom Utonium, and I must say that I'm very impressed."

Blossom's blush deepened behind her glasses. "You… Y-you've impressed me, too," she admitted shyly.

Mr. Jojo hummed. "Have I?"

Glancing at her lap, she nodded. "E-everyone… A _lot_ of students have said that you're a pain in the…um, butt," she explained before glancing back at him. "But, w-what I've gathered from _yesterday_, a-and of right now, you're not that bad. Worrisome," _For me, at least,_ "b-but not bad."

"Think so?"

Blossom pressed her lips together and nodded, glancing away yet again. "Mm-hm."

"Good."

Out the corner of her eye, Blossom could see a calloused hand reaching for her cellphone, gaping in shock as she watched the teacher casually unlock the device and tap at the screen.

He huffed a chuckle to himself. "Figured you wouldn't have a password."

Blossom hastily rose from her chair, nearly knocking it over behind her due to her clumsiness. "M-Mr. Jojo—!" She went to quickly, yet timidly reach for her phone back only for the teacher to stand up from his seat and plop it into her hands without no hassle. She blinked, glancing back and forth at the man and her cellphone. Blossom felt dumbfounded.

"…Oh."

Mr. Jojo looked at her with a small lilt of a smile, hands stuffed in his pockets, a mirthful gleam in his cherry red eyes. "You are quite intriguing, Miss Utonium, and I don't really wanna leave this here. I'd like to continue conversing. Just between me and you. If you don't mind."

Blossom was gone. So far gone as she let everything he said sink in. She was completely entranced by this person before her that all she could do was gawk as if she'd been the lucky winner of a million dollars. Was this really happening? Was she really in reality? Was this some sort of a cruel joke? Blossom secretly hoped not.

She knew what Mr. Jojo was proposing, and she knew that she couldn't possibly accept his offer. He was her _teacher_ after all. Her teacher that kept flooding within her thoughts over and over again; her teacher that made her heart and words stumble and fumble. Her teacher that admitted he was somehow intrigued with her, which she still didn't understand why _her_ out of anyone else.

But if Blossom was being honest, she was quite intrigued with him, too.

Blossom nervously licked her chapped lips, holding her phone to her chest as if it were a precious trophy. Her heart was fluttering fleetly, can't believing she had the courage to admit this. "I think you're interesting, too, M-Mr. Jojo."

Mr. Jojo gave an astounded look for a split second then smirked, pleased with her confession.

_Riiiiing!_

Blossom visibly gasped.

With that, Mr. Jojo grabbed the disregarded English book from the table and turned to walk away in confident strides. "See you in last period, Miss Utonium. Don't be late," he stated firmly, never looking back at her.

Blossom's gaze followed after his back until he was gone. Her eyes were wide behind her slipping glasses. Blossom stood there with trembling knees, slowly glanced down at her phone. Her movements were provident as she brought it from her chest and carefully swiped her thumb across the screen. She tapped Contacts and felt as if her body was floating up to the heavens. A rosy blush pinkened her cheeks.

A new contact had been added.

Brick.

Blossom ingrained the name within her mind, putting it together with the last name.

_Brick Jojo._

Blossom didn't think she could possibly be more intrigued with the man, but she was. She was truly enthralled.

And it made her feel weird.

* * *

**i personally think it sucks but i like writing so.**

**thank you for reading.**


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